Brooklyn is not clear of Christmas cheer just yet.
The sixth annual Holiday Light Spectacular in Greenwood Heights started Dec. 13 and will run until Jan. 4, two days shy of the 12th day of Christmas. The nightly light show centers on a 6-feet tall “gingerbread house” that is actually a frame hung with a whopping 10,000 lights by two local theater gurus who started the project with a desire to brighten up the block.
“We decided that we wanted to do something special in the neighborhood,” said Chris Schneider, who began planning his first timed light show shortly after moving to the area. “It was something that would be a little more fun than just traditional Christmas lights.”
Schneider, who designs props and backdrops for Broadway shows, cruise ships, and more, joins forces every year with his best friend Ryan Powers, a sound technician, to put the moving display to music. Themes for the duo’s past spectaculars have included “Polar Express,” 1950s, and Frosty the Snowman.
This year, for the first time, the light show is on demand, meaning kids and the young at heart just have to press one of the gingerbread man’s gumdrop buttons to kick off the roughly seven-minute sequence, which features a dubstep version of the suite from “The Nutcracker” as well as Bob Dylan’s “Rusty Santa.”
The gingerbread hut is a hit.
“Everyone has always been really positive about it,” Schneider said. “We try to be respectful to the neighbors, but they love it.”
Schneider and Powers have another, indoor art project planned that they hope to have up and running before next Christmas. The new show will run year-round if all goes well, Schneider said.
Holiday Light Spectacular at [310A 22nd St. between Sixth and Seventh avenues in Greenwood Heights]. Daily, 5 to 10 pm. Free.
